Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Why does RollerCoaster Tycoon (original) on a Windows 7 64-bit VM display a black screen on launch?

Question

I'm currently trying to avoid Windows XP mode since the Windows 7 installation itself is a VM (running on a Mac Mini). Regardless, here's my description of the problem.

The game successfully launches, but displays a black screen. You can hear the music play on the title world. I end up using ALT-TAB to switch out of full screen mode so I can quit. I know that once I get the game into windowed mode it'll work fine, however I've tried numerous command line switches to no avail.

I have the following compatibility options currently set:

  • Compatibility mode: Windows XP SP2 (also have tried Windows 98/ME and Windows 95)
  • Disable visual themes (at least required for the save dialog to appear)
  • Disable desktop composition
  • Run this program as Administrator (otherwise I know the game cannot save)

I have also tried (no success):

  • Run in 256 colors. I've also switched to the Windows 7 Basic theme and 800x600 resolution.
  • Run in 640x480 resolution.
  • Disable display scaling on high DPI settings.

I've tried the original game, with and without Corkscrew Follies installed, and with and without all known available patches.

So I'm looking to get the display working, regardless of method. If there's a command-line switch I can use to force a windowed mode (I've tried -w, -win, -window, -windowed) that would be just as fine.

Answer

I've been able to run the game under Wine, so you may have better luck with that then in your Windows VM.

Instructions for installing Wine on your Mac are here.

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